


Written in the Stars

by butterycrumpets



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Kobeyashi Maru, M/M, Starfleet Academy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-14
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-08 11:16:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/760724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterycrumpets/pseuds/butterycrumpets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee shop AU: Jim Kirk works with his friend and roommate Bones in a usually uneventful little coffee shop.<br/>In the weeks leading up to their starfleet exams, he becomes infatuated with a strange Vulcan with a seven year secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

‘Jim, look!’ Bones nudged his friend in the ribs and shot a glance over the counter to where a cadet, a few years ahead of them by the look of things, had entered.  
‘What.’ Jim muttered in reply, his head still throbbed from the exploits of the previous night and he had been crouching on an upturned box of coffee filters in the back room.  
‘He’s that Vulcan isn’t he?’  
Jim was on his feet in an instant, craning his head around to catch a glimpse of the figure. Indeed, his pointed ears and typical horizontal haircut gave his race away. His dark eyes flitted about the café, no doubt taking in all the minutiae of the décor and apparently finding little of interest. Had he been in the company of others, his apathetic demeanour might have gone unnoticed. But to Jim Kirk’s keen eyes, the Vulcan was spotted and watched with all the grace as though he had been some rare bird. He was dressed in the standard Starfleet academy uniform, but was draped also in a thick grey overcoat and clutched in one hand a thin, leather bound book. Jim couldn’t help but wonder if it was real leather and if the rumours of all Vulcans being vegans were true, however judging by the way the Vulcan was wringing his hands as though he were trying to peel his skin off, it didn’t look like he was in an overly talkative mood.  
‘Hello.’ Bones greeted the Vulcan from across the café in his usual, bored manner. ‘Can I help you?’  
The Vulcan’s eyes narrowed as he glanced Bones up and down as though he were little more than a piece of meat.  
‘The sign outside says you supply interstellar tea.’  
‘Indeed it does.’ Bones replied with only a hint of derision. ‘I’m assuming you’d be looking for some kind of Vulcan brew?’  
‘That is correct, it is a matter most urgent.’  
‘Well, I’m afraid we’re-‘  
Jim, who had been watching from the back store room strode into view.  
‘Not to worry, Bones. I could whip up a batch of Vulcan Plomeek if you’re interested.’  
The Vulcan turned his attention to the second, light haired human beaming back at him.  
‘That would be quite adequate.’  
‘Milk and sugar.’  
‘Neither.’  
‘Here or takeaway?’  
‘Takeaway.’ The simple act of replying to one word answer questions seemed to be draining the Vulcan of his non-existent patience.  
‘Name?’  
‘I’m sorry?’  
‘For your order, what’s your name?’ Jim repeated with a grin. ‘I’m James Kirk, but call me Jim.’  
‘There are at present no other customers in this entire establishment therefore I do not see how it is necessary for me to give you my name’ The Vulcan replied quickly, ‘And even if I did, you would be unable to pronounce it let alone spell it.’ The Vulcan hastily slid seven credits across the bench and took a seat at the furthest table, ensconced between a pot plant and a narrow bookshelf containing only dog eared copies of Starfleet regulations.  
‘That was awfully rude.’ Bones hissed. The Vulcan’s ears twitched, and McCoy knew full well he had been heard.  
‘Not at all, Bones. Our Vulcan here meant no harm. Anyway, I already know his name.’ Jim said with an angelic smile.  
Jim went to work brewing the Plomeek leaves that had been abandoned in the store room for years, desolately hoping for a Vulcan to stride in and order them. There had been no such event in all the years Jim had been working there, until that day.  
‘Thank you.’ The Vulcan said curtly as he took his tea. His eyes didn’t flicker down to the shaky handwriting on the cup until he was well and truly free from the watchful eyes of the short, blonde human.  
Pointy Eared Prick  
He frowned but didn’t break his stride. The tea did exactly what he needed it to, and that was all that mattered. He hadn’t tasted the bitter, minty taste of Plomeek for seven years, nor had he needed them in seven years. Plomeek, meditation and random acts of violence were the only things known to counteract the effects of Pon Farr, besides the obvious. Spock knew full well he was considered attractive amongst humans. The height of his cheekbones and his facial symmetry were bound to make the action of attracting a mate reasonably easy. But he had long decided he was a Vulcan, and he as such he would resist.  
It hadn’t been easy the last time, but then again, he hadn’t had an abundance of Plomeek and final exams to keep him occupied seven years ago.  
*  
‘Damn Vulcans.’ Bones was muttering as he vacuumed. The blinds had been drawn and the sign flipped. On any other day, Jim would have been heading back to his flat, preparing for the multitude of exams in the following weeks but since the owner, Montgomery, had become sick, the managerial duties had fallen to him.  
‘He wasn’t so bad.’ Jim said with a shrug.  
‘Are you serious, Jim? He was damned rude. Just because he won that scholarship a few years ago doesn’t mean he’s better than the rest of us. Did you see how he looked at the place?’ Bones harrumphed as he flicked the incinerator switch on the vacuum.  
‘Wait, you know who he is?’  
‘’Course. I just forgot his name earlier, he’s Spock. He’s our age but he’s in his final year already. I dunno what the academy was thinking letting him in, but he’s got awards and scholarships coming out his arse.’  
‘You have a few of those, Bones?’  
‘Naw, back home all I’ve got are my bones.’ McCoy said with a wink. ‘We’ll see what happens next week.’  
‘You’ll do fine, Bones.’  
‘See you later, Jim.’  
Jim was about to leave himself a few minutes later when he spotted a leather bound journal on the seat of the table between the pot plant and the book shelf. He was about to return it to the shelf when he recognised it as the one the Vulcan had brought with him earlier.  
Despite knowing full well that the café was empty, Jim still glanced about nervously before taking a seat and unbuttoning the clasp.  
Property of Spock  
There was no last name, prompting Jim to assume this Spock couldn’t spell it either. He flipped through the first couple of pages, and upon finding each was stuffed with neat, uniform notes he decided to bring it home with him before absconding through the back entrance.  
*  
Jim’s flat was small, and he shared it with Bones who was already holed up in his room studying. Jim had been informed multiple times that the Starfleet Medical Academy accepted only 200 cadets each year, and he was damned if he was going to be the two hundred and first.  
Property of Spock  
Jim smiled again at the thin, printing. His Mother had always said you could tell a lot about someone from their handwriting.  
Jim tucked the book away in a drawer and fell into bed.


	2. Chapter 2

‘Jim, wake up!’  
‘Uh, what is it?’  
James T Kirk rolled over and tried swatting at the disembodied voice, to no avail.  
‘There was a break in at the café, last night. Scotty just contacted me, come on we’ve got to go down there!’  
‘Wh-what?’ Jim scrambled out of bed, hastily draping a sheet about his waist to protect his modesty.  
‘God damn it, Jim, do you ever wear clothing?’  
Kirk grinned in response,  
‘Scotty called you?’  
‘Yeah, just now. Look I’ll let you get less… naked, I’ll meet you there as soon as possible.’ McCoy’s perpetual frown was a little deeper than usual.  
Jim pulled on the grey cadet’s uniform and was at the café within the half hour.  
‘What the hell’s he doing here?’ Jim cried as he approached the interstellar tea sign.  
The Vulcan looked up at him with dark eyes.  
‘He says he left something here last night and wanted to get it,’ Scotty told them. A couple of medical cadets along with Bones were tending to a series of cuts on his forearms and face as he spoke. ‘Well I told him that we have a little something called opening hours, and I thought that we be the end of it but before I know he’s punched through the window, that’s how I got these here wounds.’ His chest puffed out a little.  
‘What the hell were you thinking, man?’ Bones addressed their senior cadet.  
‘I needed to get my book.’ He replied, as though punching through transparent aluminium with your bare fists to get a diary was the most normal thing in the world.  
‘Well, there was no book when I left last night. Did you see anything, Jim?’  
‘Nope, nothing.’ He replied, shoving his hands into his coat pocket to feel the possibly fake leather cover of Spock’s diary.  
‘I am certain I left it at my table. It was a mistake, however I am currently emotionally compromised and such mistakes are, unfortunately, inevitable.’ The Vulcan spoke through gritted teeth, and Jim realised that his wrists were bound with the same tight rope they used in the store rooms for the sacks of coffee. Scotty must be better in combat than he appeared.  
‘When did all of this happen?’ The policewoman was asking Scotty,  
‘Ooh, early this morning. I’d just come in to check on everything and I found him milling about outside.  
‘Right, and then?’  
‘Then he knocked on the door, polite as anything. But we were closed, you see? So I told him to come back in an hour, when we opened.’  
‘And that’s when he broke through the window.’  
‘Aye.’  
‘Mr Scott-‘  
‘Montgomery, please.’ Scotty said with a crooked smile which was not returned.  
‘Mr Scott, these windows are made of transparent aluminium. There is no way a cadet, Vulcan or not, could break through them.’  
‘And so I thought, until I saw it happen right in front of me. Bloody expensive that stuff too, you’ll be paying us back for that, won’t you laddie?’  
Spock hung his head.  
‘I apologise for any damages, I am however, emotionally compromised.’  
‘What do you mean by that, laddie?’  
Bones gasped in sudden realisation.  
‘You’re not saying, Spock, has it been seven years?’  
The more advanced cadet nodded solemnly.  
‘I fear, doctor, I treated you and your assistant abominably last night and for that I apologise.’  
‘Bones, what’s he on about?’  
McCoy chuckled,  
‘He’s not a terrorist, officer.’ He assured the officer before turning to Jim,  
‘Ever heard of Pon Farr, Jim?’

* * *

‘I wish to apologise once again, Mr Scott.’  
‘No harm done, laddie. Well, except my shop window.’  
‘About that,’ Bones interjected, while tidying up the last of Scotty’s stitches. ‘There’s no way you’ll be able to come back to work for at least a month, Mr Scott. We could use an extra pair of hands.’  
Montgomery Scott frowned at the slim, wiry Vulcan who had burst through their front wall earlier that morning.  
‘Aye, ye’ll work for us until I’m better. Or until you pay off all that transparent aluminium, whichever comes last.’ He told Spock with a grin. ‘I don’t mean to pick on ye lad, but I’m afraid we need you here. ‘less we close down, and around exam times too! This is the best time of the year for us, what with all the caffeine addicted students hanging around.’  
‘What do you say, Spock? Not that you really have a choice.’  
‘When do I start?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I've changed the category of this fic, and added Star Trek J J Abrams movies as well, because I think due to the fact that it's an AU, this fic could really be either.  
> Reviews/kudos are greatly appreciated :)


	3. Chapter 3

‘Jim? You’re still awake?’  
Jim grunted in reply, ‘Why are you calling me, your room is next to mine.’ He thudded his fist against the wall to demonstrate.  
‘Hey, stop that. You’ll wake the demon lady downstairs.’ Bones hissed into his receiver.  
‘Wait is she the reason you’re calling me? You’re too scared to walk over here in case the floorboards creak too much and she comes up and yells again!’  
‘Damn it, keep your voice down, man!’ He paused, ‘And I might be. She’s pretty scary.’  
‘Pretty cute too, what was her name? A-whore-a? A-hoo-da?’  
‘Uhura.’ Bones’ frown was audible.  
‘Uhura.’ Jim repeated, flopping back into bed with a satisfyingly annoying creak he hoped Bones could hear from the next room.  
‘Look, Jim, I couldn’t sleep thinking about these damned examinations and I’m calling-‘  
‘An action which is inherently stupid due to the fact you could just walk across the corridor IN YOUR OWN FLAT!’ Jim yelled the last few words in hope that Uhura could hear them.  
‘I’m quitting my job.’  
‘What?’  
‘I need more time to study. I’ll take out a loan to cover the rest of my fees, and pay it back when I graduate, or get a job, whichever comes first.’  
‘Bones, don’t. We need you, more than ever now that Scotty’s gone.’ Jim pleaded. ‘You’re half the reason we have customers at all!’  
‘I’m a doctor not a barista.’  
‘You’re not a doctor yet.’  
‘I still intend to be one.’

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
‘Mr Kirk.’  
There was a sharp prod in Jim’s side as the Vulcan’s foot connected with his rib cage.  
‘Mr Kirk, I believe today you were meant to show me ‘the ropes’ as Mr Scott put it.’  
‘Go away, Spock. And how did you get in here?’ Jim’s just-woke-up voice cracked a little as he stiffly sat up. Glancing about he noticed he was lower down than usual, and deduced this was due to the fact that he had fallen asleep while studying and slowly slid to the ground like an attractive, blonde slug in his sleep.  
Spock adjusted his collar, and it reminded Jim of a peacock preening itself,  
‘As an advanced student I have certain privileges that-‘  
‘Save it.’ Jim pulled himself to his feet and blinked at the wall clock until the glowing squiggles arranged themselves into coherent numbers. ‘It’s nearly ten! Why’d you let me sleep in this long? Actually never mind.’ Even James T Kirk knew better than to anger a Vulcan going through some kind of seven year midlife crisis which involved outbursts of super strength and extreme violence.  
‘I assume you are aware of Leonard McCoy’s resignation. An untimely notice, however, I wish only to repay my debt to Mr Scott and I would not have woken you at all if Mr McCoy had been available.’  
‘Where is Bones anyway?’  
‘Studying. As I assume you were last night.’  
‘And into this morning.’ Jim replied, yanking his sweat stained t-shirt over his head. Spock leapt back as though he’d suddenly produced a severed baby’s head.  
‘I-I’ll meet you at the shop.’ He stuttered.  
‘Alright Spock,’ Jim yawned as he ran his fingers through his greasy, fair hair. ‘I’ll just have a shower and meet you there. Hey, what’d my door frame ever do to you?’  
‘I apologise.’ Spock replied quickly, noticing he had dug his finger nails deep into the wooden panels of Jim Kirk’s wall.  
‘Hey Spock.’ Jim said after a moment’s thought, ‘What is Pon Farr exactly? Bones refused to tell me.’  
Jim could have sworn he saw the Vulcan's ears flush a strange lime colour, as though he had momentarily become ill.  
‘It is no longer affecting me, Mr Kirk.’  
‘Jim’s fine. I call you Spock.’  
‘That is because you could not pronounce my name if you tried.’ Spock murmured, with a twitch of the lip.

By some miracle the traffic gods smiled down on James Tiberius Kirk, and he found himself at Interstellar Teas before ten thirty, when all the students rushed between their two morning classes to get a caffeine fix. Of course there were larger, cheaper coffee shops but none with a wider variety of leaves and beans, as Montgomery Scott liked to boast.  
Jim strolled through the doors to find the Vulcan behind the counter, although that was all he was doing right. His face resembled the masks Jim used to play with at school, not the friendly clown mask either, but the one with two slits for eyes and one tiny line for a mouth. The Vulcan looked every bit as hostile as he had the morning he’d strolled through the transparent aluminium, and he stood with his back as straight as a ruler, probably due to the iron rod he’s got stuck up his-  
‘Mr Kirk.’ Spock breathed. ‘I was awaiting your arrival. I read up on coffee making last night, is this suitable?’ The Vulcan pushed a mug across the counter before returning to his robotic stance.  
Jim sipped the liquid incredulously, waiting for a bitter aftertaste or a lack of taste all together, as was usual with new staff that had just learnt how to work the foam. Instead he was met with a slow building symphony of flavours, a nutty caramel with an aftertaste of mint, what seemed salty at first dissolved into a floral, honey taste that lingered on to the sugary syrup at the bottom of the mug.  
‘How on Earth did you make that? Th-that’s fantastic!’ he exclaimed. Spock looked a little pleased, or it could have been the light Jim wasn’t sure.  
‘I read up on human beverages last night, Mr Kirk.’  
‘Well, Mr Spock, I don’t know which book you were reading but I’ve never tasted anything like that. Do you think you could make it again?’  
Spock bobbed his head.  
‘Mr Kirk, despite my proficiency at the brewing of caffeinated beverages, I am afraid I am still unfamiliar with the protocol regarding customer services.’  
‘Right, well you could start with a smile.’  
Spock frowned.  
‘As it is now twenty one past ten, and we must open in nine minutes, I think we best skip to the most important parts.’  
‘A smile is your most important accessory.’ James Tiberius Kirk recited, ‘I thought you would have known that, being a Vulcan.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading friends :)  
> Reviews/Kudos are greatly appreciated and have been scientifically proven to increase writing speed by 300% ^ - ^


	4. Chapter 4

‘Hey there, what can I get you today?’  
‘Say it like you mean it, Spock!’ Jim sighed, without taking his eyes off his textbook.  
‘I cannot. I see no need for the increase in informality due to the fact I am in a serving position.’  
‘Well, it makes people more comfortable… and therefore more likely to spend money.’  
Spock pondered this for a moment.  
‘Hey there, what can I get you today, Jim?’  
‘Nice touch with the name. And get me a double shot espresso.’  
Spock bobbed his head.   
A few moments passed as Spock articulately worked the machine, and topped the mug with the chocolate powder he noticed Jim enjoyed eating by the spoonful. Carefully he placed the mug on a saucer and glided past the counter to where the blonde cadet was buried in an Elementary Klingon textbook, presumably for his xenolinguistics exam.   
The Vulcan wasn’t entirely certain as to why he was in such a good mood today, in fact he hadn’t been in such a good mood before Jim Kirk had pulled up in an ancient looking vehicle outside Interstellar Teas and shot him a crooked grin. Spock remembers noticing that the bags under his eyes were a direct contradiction to the emotion he had been attempting to convey.   
‘Why Spock, is that a smile I see on your face? What’s got you in such a good mood?’ he laughed, taking the saucer from Spock.  
‘Nothing, Mr Kirk.’  
‘Jim.’  
‘Nothing, Jim.’ Spock corrected himself, ‘I am merely experiencing heightened emotions due to…’  
‘Pon Farr, was it?’  
Spock bobbed his head again. ‘You never did get around to explaining that to me.’ Jim reminded him.  
‘It is very complicated, Jim.’ Spock replied, barely realising his informality. ‘It has to do with Biology.’  
‘What?’   
‘Biology.’  
‘What kind of Biology?’   
Spock cleared his throat,  
‘Vulcan biology.’  
A look of realisation spread over Jim’s face,   
‘You mean the biology of Vulcans? Biology as in reproduction? Well, there's nothing to be embarrassed, Spock. It happens to the birds and bees.’ Jim prepared to give the talk to a decidedly seasick looking Vulcan, before he was interrupted.  
‘We are proudly logical creatures, Jim. Have you never wondered how Vulcans choose our mates?’  
‘Well, when one Vulcan loves another Vulcan very much-’  
‘Love.’ Spock spat the word out like a curse. ‘Logic dictates our lives, our decisions and yet our mating rituals are shrouded in antiquity, hidden from humans and all other creatures. You’ll imagine my surprise when Bones mentioned it.’  
‘Mentioned…?’  
‘Do not probe me further, Mr Kirk. I am emotionally compromised.’  
‘Really, Spock. You?’ Jim said with a laugh, ‘and anyway if you don’t tell me I’ll just ask Bones. We do live together, y’know.’  
‘Do not ask this of me.’  
‘I think I have a right to know why a Vulcan became so violent he punched through a wall of transparent aluminium.’  
In that moment Spock grabbed James Tiberius Kirk by the collar of his shirt and thrust him against the wall, pulling him out of his chair and spilling the lukewarm coffee in the process.  
Jim’s head thudded against the wooden panels, and a usually crooked painting clattered to the ground with the impact. Spock’s dark eyes were close to black in the low evening light, and they looked sad although his features were contorted with rage.  
‘And I think I have a right to choose when I marry, but I have no choice. And nor do you, Mr Kirk.’ Spock’s voice was low then, and more sinister than if he had screamed at the top of his lungs. Jim was silent as the Vulcan released his grip, and slid into the chair next to where Jim had been sitting. He took his head in his hands, as though he was attempting to claw at his own brain and rewire it. Cupping the back of his head with his own hands, Jim sat next to him.  
‘It is complicated.’ Spock repeated, ‘But essentially every seven years, Vulcans undergo the blood fever. This is followed by violence and in time death if we do not mate.’  
‘All this could have been avoided if we’d just found you a girl? Well, Spock you’ve nothing to worry about, I’ll find you-‘  
‘I must be. . . the one with which I…’ For the first time in many years Spock was lost for words.  
‘You need to be in love with them.’ Jim guessed correctly.   
‘Of sorts, I must be empathetically bonded with them, which is perhaps the closest Vulcans come to love.’  
Kirk shut his textbook, opting instead for his rapidly cooling espresso.  
The two of them sat in somewhat comfortable silence for a while, before Jim spoke.  
‘I’m sorry, Spock. I shouldn’t have pressured you, especially when you were open enough to tell me not to.’  
Spock looked surprised at the human’s apology,  
‘No.’ He sighed, ‘You were not out of order. Although I fear I now have a debt to pay to both you and Mr Scott.’  
‘Not at all, Spock.’  
The Vulcan’s eyes narrowed. He shot a hand out to feel the back of Jim’s head, where it had impacted with the wall. James T Kirk sighed with the unexpected cool touch, and made a mental note to ask Spock why he looked seasick so often around Jim.  
There was no blood on Spock’s long, wiry fingers when he broke the connection.   
‘I hurt you. This is unforgivable.’  
‘If you weren’t a Vulcan, it would be entirely forgivable.’  
Spock bit back a smile as he replied, ‘I am not a Vulcan, Jim.’  
The look on the cadet’s face was entirely worth Spock’s confession.  
‘My mother was human.’  
‘Are you sure?’  
Spock laughed at that, running his fingers through his cropped fringe.   
‘Quite sure. I am half Vulcan, although I first thought I had a choice between my two heritages, it seems the Vulcan genes are more than a little dominant.’  
‘You reckon?’ Jim laughed, gesturing towards the temporary wooden window.   
‘I would ask that you do not tell any others of my dual heritage.’ Spock frowned, ‘I do not wish it to become common knowledge, worse still, gossip.’  
‘Of course, Spock.’ The half Vulcan busied himself with wiping up the remains of the coffee as Jim half-heartedly poured over his textbook. ‘Do you mean to say you haven’t actually told anyone else?’ he asked suddenly.  
Spock shook his head.  
‘I trust you, Jim.’  
‘I want to help with your Pon Farr, Spock. But I don’t know what I can do.’  
‘In time, I must return to Vulcan. However, I believe my half bloodedness will delay this date significantly, and a regular supply of Plomeek may delay it even further.’  
‘Delaying something isn’t a permanent solution.’  
‘No.’ Spock agreed, ‘It isn’t. But there is little I can do to help it now.’  
Jim pursed his lips in thought,  
‘Is there really no one at all here on Earth that you… that would be suitable?’  
‘Perhaps, Mr Kirk. But I fear my affections will go unrequited.’  
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Spock. You’re an advanced, A level student. Set to become a captain, or a first officer at least. Any girl would be lucky to have you. Just ask her to come here for coffee some time and go from there!’ Jim was relieved to be in an area of conversation with which he felt proficient.  
Spock’s lip curled, but the sadness remained in his eyes.  
‘I am sorry, Jim. Please ask Mr McCoy to look at your head.’  
‘Right.’  
‘Goodbye.’  
‘See you-‘ But Spock had already fled through the door, ‘-tomorrow.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A few lines of the dialogue (the bit about 'Biology') here has been taken from TOS episode 'Amok Time', if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it!


	5. Chapter 5

‘Spock, you free tonight?’  
‘I was going to study.’ The Vulcan replied, wiping down the last of the tables.  
‘Come on, I know a place you’ll like.  
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‘One Saurian and one Terran brandy.’  
‘How did you know I liked Terran brandy?’  
‘Lucky guess.’ Jim replied with a wink. ‘Scotty didn’t hire me for nothing.’  
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‘L-look at that guy’s eyebrows! He’s a *hic* Klingon!’  
An equally inebriated looking female jabbed a finger into Spock’s chest,  
‘Get out of here, you filthy Klingon. We don’t want scum like you dirtying up these seats.’  
‘Leave him alone!’ Jim yelled, but his voice was lost in the crowd and the blearing music. Before he could make it back to the bar, Spock had slumped to the ground.  
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‘Sorry again, sir. Is your friend alright?’  
‘I’ll take him home, don’t you worry.’ On any other day Jim would’ve at least added a ‘Jim Kirk, by the way’ to the end of his sentence, but Spock hadn’t regained consciousness yet and his head was killing him.  
He slung Spock’s surprisingly heavy body over his shoulder, leaving streaks of blood on the Vulcan’s nice overcoat from where his hand had split open.   
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‘Do I want to know how you got this?’  
‘Bar fight, you know, the usual.’ Kirk replied with a grimace.   
‘Keep still.’   
If Jim didn’t know better, he’d say Bones was enjoying inflicting pain on his roommate. It probably had nothing to do with him showing up earlier that night with a bloodied hand, popped stitches in his forehead head and a drunk, unconscious Vulcan.  
‘This is going to come up eventually, but what the hell is he doing here?’  
‘Who?’ Jim asked innocently, his eyes avoiding the Vulcan shaped lump in the sofa where Spock was sleeping soundly.  
‘The second coming of the Messiah, Jim. Who do you think?’  
‘Well, we were out drinking and – ow – he may have had a little too much – ow – to drink. There was an argument after that – ouch – and I figured I couldn’t just leave him there, we’re sort of friends – jesus, Bones, are you attempting to crochet my frontal lobe?’  
‘I wouldn’t have to if you’d just left the first ones alone.’ He hissed, ‘I have better things to do then stitch you up every night of the week. Especially when you won’t even tell me how you’re getting hurt.’ He added quietly.  
Jim sighed, as Bones reached for his injured hand. ‘Since when are you two friends anyway? He’s rude and violent and frankly-‘  
‘Don’t ever talk about Spock that way.’ Jim told his roommate softly.   
‘I’m flattered, Mr Kirk.’ An even voice came from the sofa, causing the two of them to jolt.   
‘Spock.’ Bones replied flatly, ‘I wasn’t aware Vulcans could get drunk.’  
If Bones hadn’t been up late that night studying the anatomy of transplanetary species’ aural systems, Vulcans included, he would have thought Spock hadn’t heard him.   
Instead the Vulcan was choosing to ignore the medical cadet as he stretched and somewhat steadily got to his feet.   
‘Well that’s got to be the world’s shortest hangover.’ Kirk decided, flexing his half bandaged hand.   
‘It was not a hangover because I was not drunk.’   
McCoy and Jim laughed simultaneously,  
‘You were out cold, Spock.’  
‘Quite intentionally.’  
Bones rolled his eyes,  
‘Sure, Spock. I’m glad you’re conscious, now get out of my flat.’  
‘Bones!’ Jim huffed, ‘This is our flat, and I will have guests if I like. Don’t go anywhere, Spock.’  
The three cadets sat in a somewhat stifling silence for a few minutes while Bones carefully finished wrapping Jim’s hand in gauze.  
‘My hypospray’s in the attic, I’ll be back in a bit.’ Bones muttered, before fleeing the living room.  
Jim tested out his bandaged stump of a hand, and found movement quite impossible.  
‘Are you alright, Jim?’ Spock was suddenly beside him, his own fingers inspecting Leonard McCoy’s handiwork.  
‘Me? I’m fine, it’s you I’m worried about. You were out cold before I knew what was happening!’  
‘I am quite alright. I merely rendered myself unconscious in order to avoid another outburst of violence. The moment I saw a fight breaking out, I knew I would not be able to restrain myself in my compromised condition.’  
‘Good god, you mean you can knock yourself out whenever you want?’  
Spock gave one of his rare smiles,  
‘It is called a Vulcan nerve pinch. I will show you sometime, but I have a question for you.’  
‘What is it?’  
Spock turned away, his hand drifting away from Jim’s and into the pockets of his coat, the same one he’d worn the day he met Jim Kirk.   
‘How did you know about that place?’  
‘What, the bar?’ Jim asked. ‘It’s well, it’s a well-known place.’  
‘It is not, I assure you.’  
‘Really?’  
‘How did you hear about that bar, and why did you invite me to come there with you?’  
‘I like you, Spock.’ Jim said with a shrug, before quickly correcting himself, ‘I mean, were friends. It’s what friends do.’ The faux leather organiser in his pocket suddenly felt heavy as neutron star dust, (which was 3.7 to 5.9×1017 kg/m3, there that was his studying done for the weekend, he thought to himself.)  
‘I am merely curious.’  
‘Bones told me about it.’  
‘About what?’ came a voice from the doorway, ‘Now keep still, this is an antibiotic hypospray. Luckily it won’t hurt… me.’  
Jim grimaced as Bones pressed the hypospray against the bandages, and the contents was, well, hyposprayed, right through the gauze into his bloodstream.  
‘The bar Spock and I were at, your recommendation wasn’t it?’ Jim looked desperately at the unknowing Bones.   
‘Nope, I don’t remember telling you about any bar. I especially wouldn’t have around exam time.’  
‘It does not matter, I’m sorry.’ Spock interjected, ‘I will leave now. Good night Mr Kirk, Mr McCoy.’  
‘I’ll walk you down.’ Jim leapt up and followed the Vulcan down the stairs of their building, past the demon lady Bones had a crush on below them and into the street.  
‘Jim, did you mean what you said, about us being friends?’  
‘Of course, Spock!’ Jim replied with a laugh that came out a little forced. He clapped a hand on Spock’s shoulders in as friendly a fashion he could manage, but it seemed strange and he turned it into flicking off a piece of lint. Either way, the Vulcan looked bemused.  
‘I am glad of your friendship, but there is one more thing I would ask of you.’  
‘Anything, Spock. I’m here to help.’  
‘It is a little personal, regarding my Pon Farr.’  
A thousand possible scenarios flew through James T Kirk’s head.  
‘Like I said, here to help.’  
Lime coloured Spock’s cheeks once more as he opened his mouth to speak, but he seemed to interrupt himself.   
‘What is that?’   
‘What’s what?’  
‘In your pocket, it looks like…’ The Vulcan’s eyes darkened as he glimpsed a familiar rectangular shape protruding from Jim’s coat pocket. In an instant, he had snapped out his hand and retrieved a faux leather organiser.   
‘Why did you have this?’ Spock demanded, ‘Why did you keep this from me?’  
‘I, you left it, I was going to give it back, I swear! I just needed to… check something.’  
Spock’s hands were quivering, as one of his increasingly frequent fits of rage threatened to take hold.  
‘This is very important to me.’ He hissed, ‘Tell me why you kept it from me.’  
Jim felt his cheeks redden under the Vulcan’s steely, unwavering stare.   
‘I wanted to know more about you. That’s how I knew you liked that bar, it’s how I knew you liked Terran brandy. That’s all, I was going to give it back to you soon.’  
But Spock had already turned on his heel, and was disappearing into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have gone a bit crazy with the TOS references, but here we go (in order of appearance)
> 
> 1\. Saurian brandy, this is what mirror Kirk drank in TOS episode 'mirror, mirror' (best episode ever)  
> 2\. Terran brandy, Spock asks McCoy for one of these in TOS episode 'Requiem for Methuselah'  
> 3\. Klingon, I'm writing this as though it's TOS characters... although the personalities fluctuate a little, Kirk particularly I'm noticing ^_^ But the point is, original series klingons looked hella different to the forehead wrinkly dudes we're all used to. They could have been mistaken for suntanned Vulcans, to a drunk person... if you squint.  
> 4\. Hypospray, that neato injection thing McCoy uses all the time, made a cameo in 2009 Star Trek too if memory serves.  
> 5\. Vulcan nerve pinch, we all know this one, moving on.  
> 6\. Faux leather, Vulcans are vegetarian but I like to think they would use a synthetic alternative to leather
> 
> There is also a shamefully obvious Into Darkness reference. Shameful.
> 
> I think that's all, sorry for the wait! I'm on (sort of) holiday now so I'll (probably) be able to update soon(er)   
> As always, reviews+opinions are greatly appreciated!!


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